Snippets from my life as an artist living on a family farm.

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Something I ought to remember

I was reading one of the weaving blogs I follow here and this paragraph caught my attention:

“I also gained an insight this week, for the last time, I hope. It takes a long time for insights to penetrate this head, I’ve noticed. Here it is: When a warp goes wrong, for any reason, DO NOT PROCEED. I should have this tattooed on my arm. By some habit of mind, in the part of the brain where the most primitive ideas hold sway, I cling to the idea that frugality is the first principle. This is my default option. I’m usually not aware that I am choosing it.

But to be frugal with materials, and not with my time is the wrong way to better, more profitable weaving. Deciding to remove warp that is wound unevenly, or has knots, or any number of other possible problems, or defects, before weaving begins, does waste that warp, and the time already invested in the warping. Starting over is difficult, but saves so much time later on in ease of weaving, and assures better quality in the finished woven object. I know this is not news to most of you, but I want to state publicly that I now know it, understand it, and will live by it henceforth. I’ve seen the light.

Being frugal with materials, trying to save every mistake, is false economy. I’m only fooling myself. The highest value added is my time, not the yarns.”

I tend to think the EXACT same thing! If a warp goes wrong, I should just work at it until it’s fixed because it saves materials and money. But it doesn’t actually save money because most of the time, the time spent fixing it is worth more than the amount of materials wasted. Having just been through a horrible warping experience where pretty much everything went wrong, I can really see eye to eye with this weaver on this particular matter.
~JoAnna